Review: I Am The Chosen King by Helen Hollick

SYNOPSIS: The forgotten story of England’s last Saxon King.

England 1044. Harold Godwineson, a young, respected Earl, falls in love with an ordinary but beautiful woman. He marries Edyth despite her lack of pedigree, pitting him against his turbulent family and his selfish king, Edward. In France, William, the bastard son of a duke, falls in love with power. Brutal and dangerously smart, William sets his sights on England, finding ambition a difficult lust to conquer. With Edward old and dying, England falls vulnerable to the winds of fate – and the stubborn will of these two powerful men. In this beautifully crafted tale, Helen Hollick sets aside the propaganda of the Norman Conquest and brings to life the English version of the story of the last Saxon King, revealing his tender love, determination and proud loyalty, all shattered by the unforgiving needs of a Kingdom. Forced to give up his wife and risk his life for England, the chosen king led his army into the great Battle of Hastings in October 1066 with all the honor and dignity that history remembers of its fallen heroes.

Review: I feel like whenever I read a book by Helen Hollick I feel the need to preface it by saying she has quickly become one of the my favorite historical fiction authors. I was first introduced to her writings with her Pendragon's Banner series. Now, we are taken to 1044 England. I will admit right off the bat I am not well versed in this period of history so I really can't comment on history accuracies but I can say this, with Hollick's amazing ability to tell a story and weave the key characters I felt like I was there. I loved Harold's hand-fast wife, Edyth. I could feel Emma's disgrace of her son King Edward and feel the need to dine with Godwine. The gritty, dark period of this time with so much political upheaval, changes from the Church and a country in turmoil, makes "I Am The Chosen King" a highly engaging and readable tour through this period of English history. One thing I find as a positive about a good historical fiction, it should make the reader WANT to know more about the key characters and the time period and major events. I spent many late nights reading up on King Harold, William The Bastard, Emma of Normandy, and many more. I feel the need to research more!

I definitely recommend reading this book, maybe even twice and be prepared to be sucked back about a thousand years and feel like you are sitting under a thatched roof and supping with the people of the time.

Available March 1st at your favorite bookseller












disclaimer: This ARC was received from the publisher for review. The receipt of this book doesn't affect my ability to remain impartial to my opinion.

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. The third week of April is Shaken Baby Syndrome Prevention week. This may not be in the forefront of your thoughts, but child abuse surrounds my life 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Every waking moment we are swallowed up by reminders of child abuse. For the average every day person, they hear the stories and their hearts hurt and feel empowered for one moment to make a change. I am glad. Even if the one month of awareness reminds people to be more vigilant, active, kinder and an advocate, it means our children do not suffer in vain.

I am a single parent. I say that because it's who I am and has shaped my life. I am a single parent of a child abuse survivor who is developmentally delayed. I say that because those facts have rocked the very foundation on which I stand, that foundation crumbled and it has taken many years to build the foundation to a strength on which I can stand up again. I stand proudly. I am a person with a ton of weaknesses and faults. I am weak and admittedly I am so. I have to be a parent with no holds barred even though I don't want to be. I just want to love and cuddle and make excuses but I have to be the parent that says no. Believe me, I say NO a LOT! My daughter is polite and apologizes and addresses adult males as "sir" and adult females as "ma'am" or "lady". I get angry and some days I just don't learn to bite my tongue and I forget that although Emma is chronologically 7 and physically 7, mentally and emotionally she is 3 or 4, I forget she doesn't understand. Maybe it's because of those moments of forgetfulness of her developmental disabilities and the fact I treat her as an equal that she is the way she is: an amazing, bright, witty and charismatic child who doesn't understand she has disabilities and doesn't believe that the world can slow her down. Also, she thinks she is an adult.

I am an exhausted mom. I am overweight. I have so many dreams that I wish to fulfill and so many dreams that can not happen for many years. I am struggling financially but as I hope to finish my education soon enough, I won't be any longer. I know that I have to make something of myself in order to take care of her for the rest of her life. For the rest of her life, she will be dependent upon me financially, emotionally, medically, and all other things which one who has needs depends on. When I gave birth to Emma, I could have no more. She was it. She is forever. I promised her when she was born that if I couldn't take care of her, I would make sure she was taken care of. I made the same promise again when she was lying in a coma from her head injury when she was 11 months old.

We have overcome so much and every single advancement she makes, I lie in bed at night and cry and thank the universe. When she learned to walk a mere two years ago, we were so overjoyed. Emma was so proud of herself. She learned to walk holding a hand and slowly on level surfaces without holding on. She recently graduated from riding in her wheelchair on the bus to riding in the regular seat. She still needs help as she doesn't quite have the balance and strength for the stairs but I know by the end of this school year she will have them mastered.

So, when you hear those stories and your heart breaks, remember our hearts are broken forever. We don't get to talk about it and move on. Child abuse has stolen our lives and remolded them into something that hurts and haunts and strengthens. Things in our lives don't end, it goes on forever. We struggle forever.

In April, do me a favor. Or rather, you don't have to wait til April, do it any day of any month. Remind people it's never ok to shake a baby. It's never ok to abuse a child. NEVER OK. NEVER. Maybe visit a crisis nursery. Maybe volunteer at a child abuse organization. A Children's unit at a hospital. Or even, if you have a pet, maybe volunteer for pet therapy. Or a group home for people with disabilities, help out the disabled. Heck, while we are on it. How about visit a nursing home, too? Our seniors need some love. Just do something kind for someone.

Giveaway: Celebrating Love: Share, Remember, Cherish from 1-800-Flowers.Com Giveaway (Ends 2/21/11)

Love is in the air!

Tis the time that is Valentine's Day. Roses, candy, candlelight dinners, and just loving to be in love. Sigh... it's all around us right now!

I am extremely stoked to bring a special giveaway to help celebrate this special time of the year, a copy of Celebrating Love: Share, Remember, Cherish follows Celebrating Mom in a new gift series from 1-800-flowers.com and Celebrations.com founder Jim McCann.

Reinforcing the 1-800-flowers.com and Celebrations.com philosophy of helping customers express, connect, and celebrate, McCann balances the practical with the inspirational, and the poignant with the profound, inside this collection of authentic love stories. Full-color drawings illustrate the book throughout and are interspersed with meaningful quotes and little-known facts about love and affection. Divided into four sections based on the distinct seasons of love, Celebrating Love features 150 entries.

1-800-flowers.com is also holding a "Love Note" contest on Facebook Hurry! This ends February 14th 12:00 PM ET, so hurry and post a love note and be entered to win a bouquet!

Purchase on Amazon here

OR! Enter for a chance to win a copy:

Must be 18 or older and be a resident of the US.

Entry? Post a comment sharing with us your most memorable Valentine's Day OR your favorite romantic memory along with your email address. Ends midnight EST on 2/21/11

Good luck!




I received this opportunity through my membership with Mom Spark Media, all thoughts and opinions expressed are mine and mine alone and I am receiving a copy of this book at no cost.

SALSA!!!

Salsa Sensations that is! Do you or your family love salsa? I know I do! Nothing like fresh, warm chips and a bowl of salsa to make your stomach happy. Ok, well it makes MY stomach happy! Salsa Sensations is a new product that just hit the shelves in September and is available exclusively in Walmart. The salsa is available in the 48 contiguous states and is bound to be in a Walmart near you! Made with sun ripened tomatoes, chopped onions, garlic, cilantro and jalapeno (or if you like FIRE, habaneros are in the hot salsa!). Available in three heat levels: mild, medium and hot, with only 10 calories per 2 tablespoon serving, is also a fat free and cholesterol free food, and because it's fresh, it's only in the refrigerated aisle in the dairy case. So grab some chips and get some Salsa Sensations! Ole!

BUT! That's not all folks (Oh yes, I really am trying to get that tv announcer feel! LOL. At least I am not typing in all caps (aka Billy Mays type!)


Are you creative? Do you love to cook and come up with creative snack ideas? Yes? GREAT news! Salsa Sensations is searching for creative and healthy snack ideas using their flavorful salsas AND with the Salsa Sensations What's Your Craving Contest , you can win a $1,000 gift card to Walmart! Get creative! Show them what you are made of!

Here's what you need to do:

1. Create one video (at least 30 seconds long) demonstrating your creative after school snack using Salsa Sensations

OR

2. Submit at least three original photos showing how to make your creative after school snack using Salsa Sensations.

Pretty Awesome! To enter, go to Salsa Sensations What's Your Craving Contest. Entry deadline is 11:59pm MST On Monday February 21, 2011- so get to it!!!! Upload your recipe today! Public voting goes on from there.

It's Superbowl Sunday, so I KNOW you guys are getting creative today!
Check out some more great Salsa Sensations pages:
Salsa Sensations on Youtube
Salsa Sensations on Facebook
Salsa Sensations on Twitter
Salsa Sensations Blog
Campaign hashtag #salsacraving




I was compensated for publishing this Promotional Blog Post. I received this opportunity through my membership with Mom Spark Media